


A Morning at the Monastery

by Midnight Song (MidnightMuse234)



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Fluffy, Genyatta - Freeform, I'm sorry I owe y'all something heavier on the romance next time, M/M, also this might be a prequel to a much bigger overwatch fanfiction that I'm working on so, but this was meant to be a hurt and comfort type thing, it's subtle romance, request, request from my blog, stay tuned!, where they just develope together
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-12
Updated: 2018-12-12
Packaged: 2019-09-16 21:49:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,081
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16962108
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MidnightMuse234/pseuds/Midnight%20Song
Summary: Genji and Zenyatta have spent many mornings at the monastery. Here are a few of them, leading up to the last morning spent at the monastery before the Overwatch recall.





	A Morning at the Monastery

**1 Year Ago**

Zenyatta’s eyes were closed. His thoughts drifted like the wind and his body was motionless. He didn’t breathe upon entering a deep meditation, not like a human did, anyway, but his body still floated up and down.

This morning’s meditation was soon cut short, however, upon the crash of metal against a brick wall and the sounds of Zenyatta’s student storming off.

Zenyatta’s eyes slowly opened, or rather, the lenses beneath the slots for his eyes in his mask slowly opened. There was a whirring noise as he woke up and his gaze followed Genji as the young warrior stormed away from the training grounds, his sword left resting at the bottom of the wall he’d thrown it against.

Zenyatta moved over to the sword and picked up the blade. There was a scratch on the once perfectly smooth surface, a dent that fortunately wouldn't disrupt the effectiveness of the sword. Still, to damage something so important to the young warrior… Zenyatta decided that he’d better see what the matter was.

He slowly made his way after Genji, deciding to give Genji time to think before Zenyatta arrived. Disturbing someone from one’s thoughts was always a dangerous task, at least, that’s what Zenyatta believed. Thoughts were precious - they were all Zenyatta had that proved he was more than just a program that had been placed into an empty shell. To disturb one’s thoughts was not something Zenyatta enjoyed doing, especially if that someone was too lost in their thoughts, as Genji often was.

And disturbing the young warrior when he was angry? It was an even more delicate operation.

Zenyatta found Genji sitting by the edge of a small cliff which overlooked part of the town below. His legs hung over the sides. Zenyatta had once expressed concern for Genji doing this, but Genji explained that drops like this didn’t affect his body, and Zenyatta decided it was a battle to save for another day - to teach Genji to appreciate his metallic body as much as his flesh one.

“Are you all right?” Zenyatta asked before he got too close. Another thing Zenyatta learnt was not to sneak up on Genji or invade his personal space.

“I don’t wish to talk about it,” Genji answered.

“Then we don’t have to,” Zenyatta replied. “May I come sit with you?”

Genji almost said no. “Of course,” he said without looking back at Zenyatta.

Zenyatta approached his student. He sat down next to him, about half an arm’s length away, and he didn’t speak for a few minutes.

“It’s a nice morning,” Zenyatta finally said.

Genji sighed. “I suppose it is.”

“What do you think the people in the village are doing today?” Zenyatta asked.

Genji shrugged. “Shopping? Working?”

“Making breakfast, I’d think,” Zenyatta added. “What’s breakfast like, Genji?”

Genji blinked, turning to look at Zenyatta. The omnic didn’t look back at him. Zenyatta waited in silence for Genji’s answer and it only took a moment before Genji replied, “It’s nice. A warm meal after a deep sleep… something to give you the energy you need for the day.”

“Ah, like charging?”

Genji chuckled a little. “I suppose so.” He slid back from the edge of the cliff and then stood tall. “I’d like to get back to training now if that is alright?”

“You will need this.” Zenyatta held up Genji’s sword for him to take.

Genji sighed and cautiously took it, as though the blade might hurt him. “Thank you.”

* * *

**6 Months Ago**

A cool breeze drifted in from the mountains. The glow of the sun could be seen coming from behind a mountain, but the sun itself had not yet peeked out.

Genji easily ignored the chill. He couldn’t recall the last time he’d worked hard enough during his morning training to make his face turn red and heat up, but here he was anyway. It was nice… knowing that his heart was still pumping blood through him. He didn’t feel… inhuman.

And, he admitted to himself, maybe sticking around to finish his training in the morning instead of storming off mad helped to work up a sweat too. That, and actually being willing to wake up earlier in the morning to get his training done on time… The point was, he actually completed his training now and the effects of training were visible on his body.

Genji sighed, okay so maybe he used to be a pretty bad student. He was at least trying harder now.

“You’re losing focus, Genji.”

“What?” Genji blinked when an orb was held out in front of his face, purple swirls creeping out of the carvings in the orb.

Genji sighed and bowed his head, signalling that he accepted his defeat.

Zenyatta took back his 'weapons' (Genji considered them more for self-defence than for fighting, but his master could really use them to fight if he wanted to).

“I think we’re done for the morning.”

“We are?” Genji asked.

Zenyatta nodded. “It has been a long morning. Let’s take a break and then we can resume training later.”

Genji nodded, still confused but he didn’t argue. He placed his sword on his back and followed his master as Zenyatta went back into the monastery. He followed behind Zenyatta, stepping a little closer to his master when they started to move past other omnics. Genji wasn’t scared of them, but he felt more comfortable around Zenyatta. It helped that Zenyatta was one of the only monks here who didn’t look down on Genji.

It was a strange attitude that many of the monks had - that humans needed to be lectured rather than they needed to learn to live amongst omnic kind. Zenyatta was different. In many ways, he was impatient with his brothers and sisters, but Zenyatta never seemed to run out of patience with Genji.

When they seemed to be leaving the monastery altogether is when Genji finally asked, “Where are we going?’

“To watch the sunrise.”

Genji frowned. “Isn’t there… something more important we should be doing?”

Genji heard what he thought was Zenyatta chuckling. “If you don’t take the time to properly observe what’s around you, then you’ll never be able to defeat me or anyone else in combat, Genji. You’re too distracted. Thoughts are wonderful, but if you let them wander when you should be focusing, you won’t be able to get the task at hand completed.”

Genji huffed. There was simply no arguing with Zenyatta when he was like this. Even if Genji thought it was a waste of time to watch the sun, he understood what Zenyatta was saying about him being distracted.

But how could he not be distracted? Between thoughts of his past, his brother, Blackwatch and… accepting that he could never go back to the person he once was - how could Genji possibly keep his mind focused?

Zenyatta stopped near some steps. He lowered himself so that he could sit, and he looked at Genji to see if he was doing the same.

Genji slowly sat down on the steps next to Zenyatta.

“Now what?” Genji asked.

“Now we wait.”

And so they waited. As the air warmed slightly around them and the sun began to touch the snow, making it melt, they watched.

The sky went from an endless dark blue to a bright yellow in what seemed like only seconds. The sun peeked over the mountains and Genji averted his eyes. He noticed that Zenyatta did not look away, and he supposed that the omnic didn’t need to. His eyes didn’t work like Genji’s after all.

“How is it?” Genji asked.

They both sat in silence. Genji chuckled a little.

“What’s so funny?” Zenyatta asked.

“Just… usually, you ask me how I’m feeling or how I see things,” Genji explained. “I don’t usually ask you.”

Zenyatta felt intrigued, perhaps even a little excited. He would call this happiness if he had to take a guess. “That’s interesting.”

“You didn’t answer my question, though,” Genji replied.

“Oh…” Zenyatta glanced around once more, thinking for the right word. “It’s beautiful,” he said.

* * *

**1 Month Ago**

Genji was awake and ready for training precisely as the sky began to grow lighter. He knew that he had at least an hour before the sun would show itself, and that was plenty of time to train. He was used to fighting in the dark by now. Even though the night vision in his mask was of the highest quality, he still liked to rely on his nature eyesight, but he had gotten used to both.

He waited at the training grounds for Zenyatta. Genji did his stretches and tested each part of his mechanical body, just as Zenyatta had showed him how to do, and he knew he was in peak condition by the time that Zenyatta should be arriving.

Except, Zenyatta wasn’t here yet.

It wasn’t like his master to be late, but he had been late once or twice before. Genji wasn’t concerned until the sky was really starting to get brighter and there was still no sign of his master. He left the training grounds and sought out Zenyatta’s room.

The spot where Zenyatta usually meditated was empty.

Genji scowled and - rather than simply using the door, he left through Zenyatta’s window and ran towards the courtyard. He relaxed a bit when he found Zenyatta sitting off to the side of the courtyard at the top of the cliff. He was staring down at the village below.

“Master,” Genji called.

Zenyatta turned to face him. “Oh… Genji, my apologies, I must have meditated for longer than I intended to.”

Genji moved towards Zenyatta. He sat cross-legged beside him, about a meter away from the edge of the cliff. “Master, is everything alright?”

“I think I had a nightmare,” Zenyatta replied.

“I didn’t know that you could dream.”

“They’re not exactly dreams…” Zenyatta explained. “Sometimes I meditate on a thought, other times I meditate on a memory. I think I dream once I have fallen into a restful state because the memories change from how they actually occuried.”

“That sounds about right,” Genji said. He shivered as he recalled the nightmare he had a few nights ago. He had met up with Hanzo and tried talking to him, but his brother was still the same unreasonable and unreachable man that he had been all those years ago. Unwilling to respond or listen to Genji, Hanzo took his life. All Genji could think about were the people he was leaving behind. He owed Angela and Jesse apologies for his behaviour… he needed to help them save Gabe and stop Moira. Genji needed to speak with Hanzo, even if it would result in something similar to his nightmares - Genji needed that peace. But most of all, he just wanted to live. He owed Angela for saving his life and he had a debt to pay off to Zenyatta for making his life worth living.

Speaking of Zenyatta… Genji noticed that his heart was still frantically beating from how scared he’d been when he couldn't find him. Genji knew he should say something, but he couldn’t think of anything else to say other than, “I was worried when I couldn’t find you at the training grounds... Are we going to begin our lessons for today?”

“Perhaps we’ve earned a break for today.”

Genji nodded and frowned with worry, feeling only a slight chill as his lip touched the cool metal that covered his face. He, ever so slowly, removed his mask. He could just barely register the cold air brushing against his skin.

“You haven’t taken your mask off in a long time,” Zenyatta commented.

Genji smiled.

Zenyatta observed the curling of Genji’s lips. “You’re smiling, what for?”

Genji blinked, feeling a rush of heat spread to his face. “Oh… I was just thinking that it’s true, I haven’t taken it off in a while. The metal gets too cold against my skin sometimes.”

“Why don’t you take it off more often?” Zenyatta suggested more than asked. He knew the reason why.

Genji didn’t like taking off his mask around omnics since he felt like it made him different from them. But most of all, he didn’t like revealing his scars. It had taken some time, but Genji now knew that he could trust Zenyatta with seeing the difference between himself and omnics and with seeing his scars. Zenyatta never made Genji feel like an outcast, even if everywhere else Genji felt like one.

Genji didn’t belong with omnics, but he didn’t belong with humans either. And, every once in a while, Genji thought he sensed that Zenyatta felt the same way.

The sun touched the skin on Genji’s face and he sighed a little from the warmth. Genji and Zenyatta sat in silence for a while longer before bells began to ring in the distance.

“I do believe the town is waking up,” Zenyatta said.

“Yeah,” Genji replied. “I feel like I could go back to sleep, however.”

Zenyatta chuckled, the metallic sound echoing around them.

Genji remained there for a while longer. His eyes closed, his cheeks warm… the sun felt nice. For the first time in a long time, he could really appreciate it.

And although Zenyatta couldn’t feel the warmth the same way Genji could, Zenyatta appreciated it all the same.

* * *

**Present**

Genji hadn’t been able to take his eyes off the communicator on his wrist. It had been silent for so long that he’d forgotten it was even there. So, when it was beeping this morning, he checked it right away. Now he was regretting it.

“Genji?”

Zenyatta’s voice finally snapped Genji from his thoughts. He looked up from his wrist, the video closing. He blinked and looked around, letting his eyes adjust to the room. It was light out, the sun was already up.

“How long have I been sitting here?” Genji asked.

“You missed training this morning,” Zenyatta answered. “Is something the matter?”

Genji frowned and opened the message he’d gotten. He let it play for Zenyatta to see. Once it was done, the new silence that had taken over the room was almost haunting.

Zenyatta moved into Genji’s room and sat across from him. “Are you going to join them?”

Genji gulped. He started the video over, listening to Winston speak once more. “I do not know.”

“You could if you wanted to,” Zenyatta encouraged.

Genji sighed. “This is the opportunity I’ve been waiting for. I have wanted to make amends with everyone for a long time.”

“You sent a letter to Angela, right?”

Genji nodded. “For Christmas. She got it and wrote back. She said she was happy to hear from me, so… I guess that means she isn’t mad. Still, a letter is just a letter. There are more things that can’t be done or said through just words.”

Zenyatta reached towards Genji and Genji didn’t stop him as he removed Genji’s mask. “She cannot see your face in a letter.”

Genji nodded, a small pout to his lips. “Expressions sometimes say more than words.”

“How so?” Zenyatta asked.

Genji smiled a little, happy to answer his master’s questions. “Well, a smile can show that someone is happy. A frown shows that someone is upset. Crying is a way to know that someone is very upset.”

Zenyatta nodded. “Yes… you’ve told me about these before. I remember.”

Genji’s smile widened, his eyes narrowing just a bit. “Omnics have expressions too.”

“We do?”

Genji nodded. “Your head looks down whenever you’re upset. You just did that. So, why are you upset, master?”

Zenyatta hummed in thought. “I know this is important to you. I want to see you happy.”

Genji leaned back against the wall. “But?”

“But I’m worried that if you go, I won’t see you again.”

Genji felt a small jab to his chest when he heard those words. “Well, there’s an easy solution to that.”

“There is…”

Genji frowned. “Do you not want to come with me?”

Zenyatta noticed Genji’s expression change and he found himself unable to keep looking at him. “I would like to, but…”

“Are you scared?” Genji asked, partially teasing but mostly serious.

Zenyatta didn’t answer.

“You are.” Genji leaned forward, taking Zenyatta’s free hand, the other still holding his mask. “Don’t be. You taught me a lot while I was here with you, now let me teach you while we’re out in the world.”

Zenyatta turned back to stare at Genji. “You truly wish for me to come with you?”

Genji tried not to get caught up on the wording. He absolutely wanted Zenyatta to travel with him, but he couldn’t admit that it was because he… well, it wouldn’t be the same without Zenyatta there with him. Zenyatta was a comfort to him, like his rock that kept him from floating away and becoming the angry person he used to be. “You said you always wanted to travel the world, right? To be with people and teach them, learn with them… this is how you can do that.”

Zenyatta knew that he was feeling happiness now. That absolutely must have been it. “I will come with you if only to make sure that you don’t get into trouble.”

Genji scoffed. “I don’t need you to keep me out of trouble.”  _ I need you to keep me company… _

“I don’t doubt that, but just in case, it’s necessary that I accompany you. As your teacher, I must watch out for you, my student.”

Genji’s smile widened at that. “Oh, is it because if I left, you would miss me?”

“I would,” Zenyatta said bluntly.

Genji’s smile softened. “Good, because I would miss you as well, master.” Genji took his mask back and used it to hide his face which was growing warmer by the second. “So, when shall we leave?”

“The sun is already up. I believe now would be a good time.”

Genji hadn’t expected that response, but then again, living here had never truly felt like home. The other monks didn’t keep many personal belongings and they didn’t need clothes or other items to keep them from growing bored. They also didn’t collect things since they rarely left the monastery.

It was easy enough for Genji and Zenyatta to gather what they needed for the trip. They said goodbye to Zenyatta’s brothers and sisters before they simply left, leaving behind their old life and embarking on a new adventure.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Alrighty so Overwatch lore is hard to come by and I really just tried to write Genji and Zenyatta the best I could based on what I know about them. I love them, but a lot of my knowledge comes from the fan-base, yanno?
> 
> So anyway, I hope you enjoy this! It’s a bit longer than originally intended, but it also might become connected to another Overwatch fanfic that I’m working on… (which who knows how long it’s gonna take for me to write that xD).
> 
> I’m currently participating in the Bleach Big Bang so my Overwatch fanfiction is being a little pushed to the side… Sorry about that, dearies!


End file.
